


Spiders Need Love Too

by Karumasa



Series: Shenanigans of a Spider Enhanced Teen [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Cute, Fluff, Gen, Irondad, Parent Tony Stark, Precious Peter Parker, Spiders, Swearing, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, i dont even like spiders but i wrote this, seriously if you cant handle reading about spiders this is not for you, spiderson, the rest of the avengers are only mentioned in passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 03:03:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17716799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karumasa/pseuds/Karumasa
Summary: Being bitten by one and suddenly gaining powers? Not as weird as every spider in the world wanting to be his friend suddenly. Thank god for having never grown out of his love for spiders. Otherwise, this would be pretty damn awkward.And possibly terrifying.*If you can't handle even the most vague descriptions of spiders this is NOT the story for you!*





	Spiders Need Love Too

**Author's Note:**

> this loosely ties in with "*Shocked Pikachu Meme*" but idk where exactly. you also don't need to have read that one. this can be read independently.
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>  
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> ***BANGING POTS AND PANS TOGETHER***  
>  **THIS IS THE THIRD AND FINAL WARNING! IF YA'LL CAN'T HANDLE READING ABOUT SPIDERS, THIS ISN'T THE FIC FOR YOU! I DON'T LIKE SPIDERS AND ABOUT THREW MY LAPTOP AT THE WALL OVER A DOZEN TIMES BUT THIS WAS TOO GOOD NOT TO WRITE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO FORCE YOURSELF TO READ IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO! IF I FIND OUT YOU DID I WILL GO AT YOUR ANKLES WITH A MALLET AND HIDE YOU IN MY HOUSE LIKE I'M RE-MAKING THE MOVIE 'MISERY'**
> 
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> *clears throat* if none of that bothers you then you may proceed.

So maybe it’s a good thing that Peter has never really been scared of spiders. He had even found them really cool when he was younger. It’s a fascination that grew exponentially after he was bit. He probably would’ve asked Aunt May for a pet tarantula by now if it wasn’t for the fact that she was petrified by even the smallest of spiders.

Therefore, pet spiders were a no go even if the apartment they lived in allowed pets.

But the reason Peter was glad that he wasn’t afraid of spiders was because he probably would’ve died by now if he was. Apparently, the bite that mutated his genes didn’t just give him spider like abilities, but also made him extremely likeable to all other spiders. Didn’t matter the species or how aggressive it was supposed to be. They all loved to climb on top of him and just hang out.

Peter had walked around a pet store for 30 minutes, unknowingly, with an escaped tarantula on the back of his shoulder. He only noticed when one of the employees started screaming, terrified to death of the baby Pink Toe Tarantula clinging to him, and other employees came running to see what’s wrong. The employee who found the small baby was very calm while explaining to Peter what was on him, not knowing that he really didn’t mind. She smiled and agreed to let Peter give the spider a few pats, cooing at the tiny pink-ish orange dots at the end of each leg, before taking the spider back to where he belonged.

Multiple variations of this event took place before Peter just stopped going to pet stores all together.

It didn’t stop the random spider he met in alleyways from coming to crawl all over him though. He kind of wished that there was some form of treat he could carry around, but he couldn’t exactly carry live insects with him all the time. Plus, the chance of him losing them was ridiculously high.

So, Peter just settled for giving them a few strokes and carrying them somewhere new where there’d be more food.

Peter also never told anyone about spiders having a sudden affinity for him since he knew a lot of people were feared of them or, at the very least, grossed out. The only person who truly knew was Mr. Stark-Tony- _Dad_ and that’s because he’s the only one who knows his identity beyond Aunt May and Ned.

Because, see, Peter didn’t actually tell Mr. Star— _Dad._

(And did Peter mention he was still getting used to calling him dad? Because _wow_ had that been the emotionally charged conversation of the year.)

The man himself had figured it out with the help of giant, skittish spiders running around the streets of Brooklynn. They were fast and hard to catch, which is why Spiderman had been called on. It had been resolved easily once Peter dropped down where they had been most recently spotted, clicking his tongue softly at them.

The horrified and slightly disgusted faces of the Rogues, minus the Winter Soldier who looked slightly fascinated, as Peter came out of the alley with a spider on his back, legs wrapped all the way across his torso, and three more following close behind was further evidence as to why Peter never tells anyone he’s basically a spider whisperer now.

Peter really didn’t care about the Rogues’ reaction that much though. He filed it away because it could come in handy later on, but he _was_ worried about Ton—his dad’s reaction. Peter didn’t even know if the man liked spiders!

Seeing the Iron Man armor helmet retract to show Tony smirking calmed him down some.

Hearing Tony say, “So I see you made some new friends” relaxed Peter even further.

So he ignored the gagging sounds coming from behind the Iron Man armor and picked up the spider that was nervously walking circles in front of Peter’s feet. He smiled as he held the fuzzy creature up.

“I guess you could say that.”

Two weeks later there was a giant stuffed spider sitting on Peter’s bed at the compound.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, dad?”

The man in question hummed from where he was working on a SI project.

“What’s your take on spiders?”

Peter watched Tony freeze from where he’s sitting across the table to him. The man gave him a confused look as he set his tools aside.

“I don’t really have an opinion on them? I don’t dislike them, but they also aren’t my favorite animal. Why do you ask, kid?”

Shrugging, Peter fiddled with a spare piece of metal absentmindedly, avoiding eye contact. “It’s just… I don’t know.” He started. “I’ve always liked them, but it always seems like most people don’t like them or even outright fear them. Ned doesn’t mind talking or reading about them, but pictures or seeing them in real life freaks him out. And Aunt May can’t stand even the thought of them. So, I guess…” Peter risked a glance at his dad’s face, relieved to see the openness, before looking away and continuing. “I guess it would just be nice to have someone I can actually talk to about my new spider whisperer powers is all.”

Peter jumped when a hand touched his, relaxing as a calloused thumb rubbed soothingly across the back of his hand.

“Oh, Peter. Look at me, kid.” Shyly looking up, Peter met warm brown eyes. “I really wouldn’t mind being that person. I have absolutely zero problems with spiders. Besides,” The eyes turned mischievous as Tony smirked, “You being the new spider king isn’t anywhere near the strangest thing I’ve seen.”

Letting out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, Peter immediately rounded the table and pulled out his phone. He smiled the entire time he showed his dad the pictures of the different spiders he’s met, where, and their different personalities.

 

* * *

 

When Peter walked into the compound to welcome Tony home from a business trip only to have a small box shoved into his hands, well… he was thoroughly confused.

“Hold this and don’t open it unless absolutely necessary or I tell you to. Give me one hour.”

And with that, the engineer took off in the direction of his workshop, leaving Peter stunned. Feeling something in the box move had Peter shivering. Looking down, he could only gape at the grey and purple fuzzy leg that was sticking out of a hole in the top of the box.

“Holy shit.”

The next hour saw him petting the long legs that would randomly pop out and muttering softly to the trapped spider. The rumbling in his chest was new but seemed to calm the other down so Peter didn’t fight it.

“Are you _purring_?”

Peter jumped, his sticky fingers saving the poor spider on his lap from going flying. Whipping around, he came face to face with a curious looking Tony. Hesitantly he said, “I don’t know?”

The curiosity on the other man’s face got stronger before being replaced with determination.

“We’re gonna look into that some other time. Right now I need some help doing a bit of heavy lifting.” Tony pointed at the box still held in Peter’s grasp. “And bring the fuzz machine with you.”

Following along brought Peter to the workshop and in front of what was easily a 50-gallon tank.

“It probably would’ve been easier to buy a tank, but it was faster just to build one with all the stuff I had. Especially since it was already mostly done and all I really had to do was put the pieces together.”

Peter could only stare at his mentor, his father figure, stunned.

Tony carried on as normal.

“I figured since we’re heroes and prone to breaking things that this would also be safer. It’s made from Hulk proof glass and has a black adamantium frame. So, the thing is basically indestructible. The adamantium also makes it heavy as hell, which is why I need you to help carry it.”

Looking over the tank and hearing how long— _how difficult_ —it probably was to make caused Peter to unintentionally tear up. It didn’t go unnoticed either.

“Oh shit, kid. What’s going on?”

Fingers brushing against his cheek caused Peter to let out a sob. Quickly putting the boxed spider he was still holding on top of the closed tank, he wrapped his arms around Tony.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he sobbed.

A wet patch was forming on the dress shirt under his face, but the arms that circled around Peter’s waist stopped him from moving away.

They stood there, minutes passing, while Peter clutched his father figure, sobs slowly weakening into hiccups. A hand gently carded through his hair.

“Hey, Peter. You feel any better?”

He thought about it before shrugging. He felt emotionally drained. Does that count as better?

“Hmm, it’s fine if you don’t know. Do you feel like talking?”

Peter shook his head from its place on Tony’s shoulder.

“Okay, you don’t have to. How about moving the tank up to your room? Do you feel up to that?”

He could feel himself stiffen even with the hand still running soothingly through his hair. Did he? The thought of it didn’t make him want to cringe so he probably could. But, does that mean his dad would stay here? Or go with him? He didn’t want to let go so soon. No, no, no.

Peter whined, hoping to convey what he was thinking but without words.

“I’ll be with you the entire time, Pete. We’ll set it up together.”

He thought about it for a few seconds before nodding, but not moving.

“You’re gonna have to unstick then, kid. At least until we get everything situated.”

Smilingly sheepishly, Peter unstuck his hands from the back of his mentor’s shirt, watching the man pick up his discarded suit jacket and throw it over the box Peter’s spider was in. Peter’s face must have shown his confusion because when Tony looked at him, he only shrugged.

“I think it’s pheromones. I’m pretty sure this is the jacket you stole that one day you had a nightmare during midday nap and I was in some board meeting at the tower. Remember that?” He must’ve took Peter’s flushed face as the signal that he did in fact remember that day and continued. “Well, I kind of just threw it back in my closet. It’s not like it got dirty. But, it’s probably a good thing I packed it for the trip because it was the only thing that kept the purple menace calm during the trip back.” Tony waved a hand in the air. “So, pheromones.”

Peter thought about it as he reached for the tank. Yeah. That made a lot of sense actually.

Picking the tank up, he started making his way to his room, occasionally checking behind him to make sure that Tony was still there. He ignored the Rogue Avengers as he crossed the common room and passed through the West Wing doors. Opening his bedroom door had him almost tripping over a box.

“Careful. I didn’t get a chance to move stuff out of the way before the trip.”

Nodding, Peter gently nudged a few boxes out of his way before spotting a table in his room that wasn’t there before. A quick look over showed it was the perfect size to hold the tank he was carrying. Peter could feel a lump in his throat forming even as he placed the tank in its designated spot. He heard Tony sit on the bed behind him and a box being opened.

“It’s probably best if we get fuzzy plum into his new home huh? After that how about a movie?”

Turning, Peter saw the box on Tony’s lap held terrarium supplies. The lump in his throat got bigger. Pushing it down, he got to work by helping open the other boxes.

It took about an hour and a half before Peter was satisfied with the result. Coconut fibers lined the bottom of the enclosure, half of it damp, with plenty of plants and structures to be used for hiding or climbing. After a quick search online, Peter placed the water dish on the opposite end, away from the major hiding spots, in a little dug out so it wouldn’t spill. The thermometer was attached to the back wall where he could easily see it.

Overall, Peter was proud of his little set up.

He heard Tony come stand next to him.

“Guess it’s time for the move in.”

Peter looked between the box in Tony’s hands and the man’s face before slowly opening the taped down lid. Immediately fuzzy legs attached to Peter’s arm and he laughed.

“Okay, okay. You’re fine. I’m just going to put you in your new home, alright?” His voice was raspy from lack of use and his previous crying, but he didn’t let that bother him. Making a few clicks with his tongue, he softly placed the fuzzy tarantula into the habitat, close to one of the hiding spots. “You’re okay, you’re safe.” Once the arachnid was safely hiding, Peter pulled his hand out and closed the enclosure’s lid securely to let the poor guy get used to his new home on his own time.

Promptly falling onto his bed, Peter rolled until his head rested on his mentor’s lap. “Thank you.”

Fingers lightly pulled at his curls before gently untangling the knots in his hair. He felt the shrug Tony gave from where his face was pressed into the man’s stomach.

“I had already planned on all this a while back. Hence the almost finished enclosure. I just didn’t expect to get the actual pet part until everything was set up. We were driving to the airport when we went by a specialty pet store in London, which is when impulse took over, I guess. He liked me the best, probably because of my jacket, which is how I chose which one.”

Dragging his father figure down fully onto the bed, Peter wiggled until he could wrap himself fully around the man. His voice wet as he whispers, “I love it. Thank you so much. I’ve always wanted a pet tarantula.”

The fingers went back to stroking his hair as the lights dimmed.

“I figured as much. But I also knew Aunt May would’ve never allowed it. Not if what you said is true about how terrified of spiders she is.”

Peter just hummed, emotionally drained and exhausted, eyes closing as he listened to the steady beat of Tony’s heart.

“Go to sleep, kid. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

The last thing Peter heard was for Friday to put on a movie.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, so hypothetically speaking, if I were to release a bunch of spiders in the compound how—”

“Only in communal areas and/or the Rogues’ bedrooms. I may have nothing against spiders, but I draw the line at them crawling on me while I sleep.”

“Technically,” Peter points his pencil at the engineer, “Sleeping humans absolutely terrify spiders. Breathing, heartbeats, and snoring all scare them away because of the vibrations.”

Tony just points his wrench back at the teen. “Technically, most people don’t live with a human with natural spider appeal rolling off them in waves. If anything, there’s enough of your pheromones on all my stuff that any spiders in my room would disregard common sense all together.”

Frowning at his mentor, Peter begrudgingly agreed. “Yeah, that would happen, wouldn’t it?”

Nodding, Tony got back to replacing Butterfingers’ treads, the bot beeping happily whenever he’s given something to hold. “Yeah, it would. But go on. You’ve intrigued me now.”

“Ok, so,” Peter began. “I’ve been running tests around the compound with fake, but highly realistic, spiders to see everyone’s reaction.” He dug a piece of paper out from in between the sheets of homework that were surrounding him. “Mr. Wilson has the worst reaction. He immediately leaves any room if anyone so what mentions that a spider was seen in the last 10 minutes. He also refuses to reenter it unless someone makes sure there’s no spider.”

A snort came from Tony.

“Mr. Barton has probably the funniest reaction. If the spider is far enough away he has minimal reaction to seeing it. When it gets close enough though or even touches him, he screams before running away.”

“Oh god,” Tony guffawed. “Please tell me there’s video.”

Peter nodded as Friday happily says, “Saved for your viewing pleasure, Boss.”

“Umm,” Peter skimmed his research results. “Mr. Rogers and Ms. Maximoff both have the same reaction, which is they get steadily more uncomfortable the closer the spiders get. They will both leave the room if it becomes too much. They are also the ones mainly called upon to kill spiders for the others, even if its visibly obvious they dislike ‘touching’ the spiders.” Tapping his pencil against the workshop table, he kept reading. “Ms. Romanov is much the same except it only applies to larger spiders. She has no problems with smaller ones from what I’ve found out.”

Seeing Tony nod, Peter continued with the last of it. “Mr. Vision and Mr. Barnes both have no reaction. Though,” Peter gave a quick glance towards his mentor. He knew Tony had forgiven Mr. Barnes the most out of all the Rogues, but he also didn’t want to accidentally touch on a sore spot. “Mr. Barnes has been known to pick up and touch some of the fake, test spiders. He only does it towards the fuzzy ones. He also looked interested in the giant spiders that had attached themselves to me that day in Brooklynn.”

“That,” Tony blinked, looking over at the teen, “Most of that is actually surprising. The Black Widow is scared of spiders?”

“Only large ones.”

“Isn’t that a bit too ironic?”

Peter snorted. “Less ironic than if I were scared of them. At least she’s not genetically half spider.”

“The truth!” Tony yells before calming down. “But, continue this ‘hypothetical’ plan you have going on.”

He looked towards his mentor in trepidation. “Wh-Why’d you say it like that?”

“Because we both know – _no you can’t have that right now I need it_ —that this ‘hypothetical’ plan is already in motion. You’re just waiting for all the Rogues and Vision to get back from where ever they all went for lunch so you can watch.”

Trying for innocence and probably failing, Peter tries playing dumb. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you don’t, do you?” Tony narrows his eyes at the teen. “Then if I asked Friday to pull up the camera feed, I _wouldn’t_ find the entire common room covered in spiders?”

“No!” Peter shouts, realizing too late that Tony was trying to rile him up on purpose. Grumbling, he angerly goes back to his homework, knowing he just gave himself away. “Okay, so maybe I did already do that. But it’s going to be great! I’m betting on Mr. Wilson fainting.”

“Yeah?” Tony smirks. “I bet it’ll be Hawkeye.”

“Stakes?”

“Final say on food and movie choices for the next two weeks.”

“Oooooh, you’re on. I hope you’re prepared to lose, dad. Two weeks of the Bee Movie! I don’t think you can handle it.”

“Only if I lose, kid. And I’ve never been known to lose.”

An hour later had Friday pulling up the security live feed, stating that the Rogues plus Vision just arrived in the compound’s garage. Both Peter and Tony pushed away what they were working on to gather around the videos. One of them showing the common absolutely drenched in spider of various size and colors.

“Jesus, kid. You really went all out.”

“Go big or go home apparently runs in the family.”

Tony laughed, working to get himself under control once the garage feed showed everyone exiting the SUVs.

They tracked the group through the compound, waiting with bated breath as they got closer and closer to the common room. A gasp echoed in the workshop but neither knew who it came from as they watched Clint reach the door first.

“Oh shit.”

It was as if time slowed down as the two watched the group walk into the common room, a flicker of surprise and disappointment passing through them at the obliviousness of the Rogues. Emotions that were quickly banished once screaming started coming through the speakers.

_“Jesus, fuck!”_

_“Oh hell no.”_

_“Please tell me this is a dream. Please tell me this is a dream. **Please tell me this is a dream**.”_

_“Begone, spawn of Satan! Begone!”_

Tears gathered in both of the geniuses’ eyes, a few spilling down Tony’s cheeks, as they laughed at the reactions. Steve’s terrified voice making them look back at the video through the blurriness.

_“Buck. Buck! Bucky, no! Don’t bring that any closer! How are you okay with holding something like that?!”_

_“It’s just a spider. A scared one at that. Hell, most of these guys are probably scared so if you could shut the fuck up that’d be great.”_

Because standing in the middle of the room was Bucky, holding Peter’s Giant Blue Bloom Tarantula in his cupped hands.

“Kid, you might want to go get Eggplant. Rogers looks like he’s ready to throw down with the spider.”

Still giggling, Peter agreed and heading towards the workshop exit.

“Put the suit on! You’re gonna get swarmed by a bunch of freaked out arachnids the second you step foot in there. So, unless you want them all to know, put the damn suit on!”

Peter hadn’t even thought of that. Spinning on his heel, he quickly dragged his suit out of his backpack and tossed it on before running towards the common room. Once he got there, he quietly jumped onto the ceiling and crawled through the door, everyone too freaked out by the shear amount of creepy crawlies to notice. Seeing Steve creeping towards a growling, defensive Bucky had Peter moving quick.

“Eggplant!”

Dropping down in front of Bucky, he held his hands out. Immediately purple-grey legs reached out for the spandex covered hand as dozens of tiny little legs crawled up Peter’s legs. Purring softly, he brushed the colorful legs still covered protectively by Bucky’s hands. “Hey, little buddy. Think you could hang out for a few seconds longer?” Peter waved absentmindedly as the spiders starting to cover more and more of his body. “Just let me get everyone else outside and then I can put you back into your little home, okay?”

Clicking, Peter moved towards the large floor to ceiling windows, guiding the small army of eight legged creatures to the small hidden hatch Tony had put in specifically for Peter. Once he came back inside, Peter looked around only to see both Clint and Sam passed out on the floor. He frowned at the two downed men even as he walked back to Bucky and the tarantula he was still holding.

“Damn, of course they both fainted. Now how do we decide who wins.”

“If I may, Peter,” Came Karen’s voice. “But Friday told me about the bet. Why don’t you each get a week since you both technically won?”

“Yeah! That would work, wouldn’t it! Thank, Karen!”

“Anytime, Peter.”

With that in mind, Peter stops in front of Bucky.

“Thanks for protecting Eggplant! Peter would’ve been upset if anything had happened to him.”

“His name’s Eggplant?”

Not really expecting a reply, he startled at the softly accented words. Deciding to roll with it, he held his hands out for the tarantula, smiling under the mask when the ex-assassin gently passes the arachnid over.

“It’s ‘cause Mr. Stark called him fuzzy plum one time. Though Peter said the coloring reminded him more of an eggplant. Hence the name.”

Peter felt slightly weird talking about himself in the third person, but he shrugged it off. Watching the super soldier nod at the explanation and the fondness in his eyes had Peter coming up with an idea that would probably bite him in the ass later on. But fuck it, ya know? The line between helping people and imminent self-destruction was a fine one and, boy, did Peter walk it hard.

“If you asked,” Peter felt the lenses of his mask narrow, “I bet Peter would let you hang out with Eggplant whenever you wanted. Mr. Stark would also let you if you asked.”

Seeing the ex-assassin open his mouth to refuse, Peter shook his head. “Just… just ask first before tossing the idea away completely.” Jumping onto the ceiling after putting Eggplant on his head, Peter gave a parting farewell before crawling away. “I have to go put this little guy back where he belongs but think about it!”

 

* * *

 

Three weeks later saw Bucky hesitantly asking Tony if he could see Peter’s tarantula.

If seeing the man become less stressed, less tense, around the compound from the regular interaction ended up with a giant black and silver, fuzzy stuffed tarantula showing up on the man’s bed…

Well, that was for Tony to know and for Peter to snicker about.

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: i wrote the word spider 49 times
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> [tumblr](http://karumasa.tumblr.com)


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